Krys Sipple, The Clinic's executive director, was appointed to the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) board of directors in December. The National Association of Free Clinics is the only national non-profit whose mission is solely focused on the needs of free clinics and the populations they serve. There are over 1,200 free clinics across the country that serve more than 8 million uninsured patients each year.

When the NAFC was founded in 2001, the leaders envisioned a network of local free clinics brought together to create a voice much more powerful than could be realized on either a community or even a state-wide basis. As a member organization of the NAFC, The Clinic receives many benefits, including group purchasing, information on funding sources, advocacy, an annual summit, and access to donated medications and supplies.

One of the things that the NAFC has been doing to raise awareness of the issues facing the uninsured is by holding C.A.R.E. Clinics around the country. Held in large venues such as convention centers, these are one-day free medical clinics for people without health insurance, staffed entirely by volunteers from all over the country. Local free clinics near each venue coordinate follow-up care for the patients who are seen during each event, so each patient leaves with a plan for “what’s next,” eliminating fears that these clinics are “one and done” warehouse events. Krys has volunteered at a C.A.R.E. Clinic in Atlanta, and the level of organization, professionalism, the gratitude of the patients and the sheer joy of the volunteers was amazing to experience.